January 11, 2011, at 12:17 am | Yesterday was a milestone for me. I reached the stage of this pregnancy at which I was admitted to the hospital three years ago while pregnant with the twins.
24 weeks and 1 day.
I doubt I’ll ever forget May 16, 2008. Jim and I drove early that morning to the University of Connecticut Hospital in Farmington for a Level II Ultrasound to find out whether a small, benign “choroid plexus cyst” had resolved that had previously been spotted in one of our girls in the previous scan. It was supposed to be our second and last trip to UConn for the benefit of their ultrasound facilities, as we were planning to deliver at a local hospital. Little did I know that I wasn’t going to be home again for another two and a half months.
It was a cool, rainy day and I remember lamenting that the weather that year hadn’t yet cooperated to let me wear many of the cute spring maternity clothes I had recently purchased. Neither Jim nor I were very anxious about the impending appointment; we had been told that the cyst, even if it hadn’t resolved, was most likely harmless. We were just looking forward to another peek at our daughters.
It wasn’t until the end of the scan, after we were happily informed that the cyst was gone and the girls looked fine, that the ultrasound technician appeared somewhat concerned and asked us to wait to speak to the doctor. Her behavior caused me some concern, but I figured I was just being paranoid. Then the doctor came in, asked us a series of questions that seemed odd and inconsequential at the time. He did his own evaluation, and then told us, matter of factly, that I was in labor. I had had no idea. Nothing would be the same again.
I was rushed into the Labor and Delivery department where, upon examination, it was found that I was having frequent but painless contractions that were causing dilation. If I remember correctly, I was about four or five cm dilated – halfway to delivery stage. I was immediately started on a host of medications designed to halt labor, including magnesium sulfate or “mag.” The mag was extremely powerful, making me too weak to move, think, or even see. As a result, I don’t remember much about the next three days of treatment. One of the only clear memories I have is of a neonatologist coming into my room and explaining to me that, given the early stage of my pregnancy (I was still only in my second trimester), and the girls’ relatively low weights (I think they were only about a pound each), they only had a 50/50 shot of surviving if I delivered then and there – which the doctors expected me to do. If one or both did survive, they would likely suffer from disabilities, possibly profound ones. But every day that the girls stayed inside, their rates of survival skyrocketed and their rates of potential disabilities plummeted. Every day was vitally important.
But it was out of my hands.
Thankfully, it was in the Lord’s Hands.
I still can’t believe that He brought me into the best hospital in the state on the day that I went into active labor.
I still can’t believe that He kept these girls safely inside of me for another ten weeks after I went into labor.
I still can’t believe that He allowed them to be born healthy and whole and beautiful.
I still can’t believe that He has given me two and a half amazing years with my twin miracles.
And now I can’t believe that He has brought me so far with yet another miracle inside of me.
I don’t know how long He will allow me to keep this precious baby inside of me, or in my arms for that matter, but I am so thankful for every day.
January 9, 2011, at 10:04 pm | What more can a grandma ask for than cute kids quietly cuddling on a couch?
January 7, 2011, at 10:41 pm | 
Susie: “Why is there a tree growing on our back deck?”
Becky: “Because Mom and Dad were too lazy to toss the Christmas tree into the woods.”
Mom: “But now I’m kinda thankful we were lazy, because it looks beautiful covered in snow!”
January 6, 2011, at 11:11 pm | Don’t the girls look like old men in their easy chairs, lounging with their snacks and the morning paper?
January 5, 2011, at 11:23 pm | In honor of my mom’s birthday yesterday, I’m posting Susie’s rendition of a lullaby that my mom would often sing to me during my childhood, “All the Pretty Little Horses.” I think Susie skips the actual chorus, but I find it endearing nonetheless. I hope you do, too!
January 4, 2011, at 11:34 pm | Ever since our guests abandoned chilly Connecticut for the warmer climes of Arizona, my girls have been a bit of a handful. I’m starting to wonder whether the two of them are attempting to remedy the emptiness of our home by duplicating the chaos that was involved in having double the twin toddlers around. Not that all the cousins weren’t really, really good together; it’s just that I expected the noise level to decrease somewhat after our guests left, and the girls are doing their fair share to see that it remains at a migraine-inducing pitch.
Yesterday, in an effort to run off some of their abundant energy, I shooed the girls outside to play. I was expecting to huddle in the relative warmth and shelter of the open garage while observing their antics, but I had neglected to take into account the icy conditions that necessitated my presence outdoors. Susie actually did quite well navigating the icy patches of our yard, which impressed me greatly. She’s the less physically coordinated of the girls, so I was surprised to see her successfully skate and bobble her way across the slickened snow, while the normally-agile Becky merely managed a series of pratfalls.
We nonetheless managed to have an enjoyable time outdoors, complete with a miniature snowy slide, courtesy of Susie. She found a (very, very) slight incline in an iced-over snow pile and proceeded to crawl up it and scoot down it with the enthusiasm and endurance of a mountain climber.
Here she is, showing off her sliding skills (I’ll warn you that it’s not a very exciting video, and I was too lazy to edit it, so it’s on the long side):
The girls eventually tired of climbing snow piles and felt brave enough to graduate to actual sledding. Becky grabbed a sled out of the garage and happily pulled her sister around on it. However, they limited their sled-pulling to the flat driveway, which also happened to be completely free of snow and ice. Silly me thought it was the cutest thing ever:
It wasn’t until I showed the pictures to Jim later that night that he groaned and asked if it ever occurred to me that it wasn’t the best thing for a sled to be pulled around on dry pavement. Honestly, it hadn’t. It never crossed my California-born-and-bred mind that pavement wasn’t a perfectly acceptable surface for sledding. Oops! Good thing the girls’ sledding needs are rather low-key at this point, and a scratched-up sled performs as capably as a more aerodynamic sled when all it has to do is scoot two feet per hour across our level yard!
January 3, 2011, at 11:38 pm | The more things change…the more they stay the same.
Here was the girls’ favorite activity a year ago:
And here is their favorite activity today:
They may be taller with (a little) more hair, but they’re still crazy!
January 2, 2011, at 10:49 pm | What a busy, wonderful year we just ended! It’s hard to believe that we crammed so much into one year. We visited Pennsylvania several times, Florida, North Carolina, California, New Jersey, and Maryland; we welcomed a new friend into our lives; we moved into a new house, we celebrated the girls’ 2nd birthday, we found out that we are expecting a baby; and we had amazing visits from beloved friends and family (there are too many links to post for that one – we are so blessed!). We are so thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness and we give Him all the glory for such a good year. We look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for 2011!
January 1, 2011, at 1:55 am | Happy New Year’s from our family to yours! May your 2011 be blessed!
 
December 30, 2010, at 11:24 pm | Tonight’s our last night with Jim’s sister’s family. We’ll miss the wonderful cousin time!
|
ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
Recent Comments